Tag: Ray Collins Page 2 of 3

TWIWBL 51.1: The Awards – Gold Gloves

On October 27, 2023

In addition to the winners, wanted to track the 2 next runner ups, for posterity and what-not.

We’ll go in order of how the awards are announced, beginning with the Gold Gloves. I’ve used 600 innings as a rough qualification minimum.

One thing that jumps out at me here is just how phenomenal the New York Gothams were defensively: two Gold Glove winners, 3 others mentioned.

#P

It’s a challenge because pitchers overall get so few chances. At the end of the day, you have to go with who makes the most plays.

Name	Tm	Inn	ZR	TC	E	A
Jack Taylor	HOD	205	2.9	32	1	15
Ray Collins	PHI	194	0.7	39	2	21
Old Hoss Radbourn	OTT	198	3.9	27	0	21

Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / A = Assists

#C

Catchers are so hard … do you value cERA, which gives an unfair advantage to backstops blessed with better staffs? What about throwing out runners, where virtually everyone is within a few percentage points of each other? Are errors worse than passed balls or vice-versa?

Who knows. It’s clear that Cleveland’s Louis Santop dominates the numbers here (even if his FRM is some lucky fluke), and that Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench is damn good. Also, Brooklyn’s Duke Farrell, Portland’s Iván Rodríguez, and Miami’s Alan Ashby all look like real contenders if they were to ever earn enough playing time.

Name	Tm	Inn	ZR	E	RTO%	PB	cERA	FRM
Louis Santop	CLE	921	3.4	3	32.6	3	4.23	5.4
Johnny Bench	IND	971	3.4	8	34.6	5	4.49	1.8
Thurman Munson	NYY	1071	2.4	5	32.0	5	4.71	1.2

Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / E = Errors / RTO% = Runners Thrown Out % / PB = Passed Balls / cERA = Catchers’ ERA / FRM = Runs Gained through Pitch Framing

#1B

While the Gothams’ Will Clark and Baltimore’s Dan McGann are pretty indistinguishable, Clark covered more ground. Note that for 1B we’ve listed assists over double plays, as they are a more reliable indicator for the position.

Name	Tm	Inn	ZR	TC	E	A
Will Clark	MCG/NYG	1071	3.8	1082	6	78
Dan McGann	BAL	1051	1.6	1160	6	66
Mike Epstein	HOM	1010	1.6	1088	11	77

Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / A = Assists

#2B

This is incredibly close, and in addition to these three, San Francisco’s Jimmy Bloodworth and Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich could be listed quite easily.

Name	Tm	Inn	ZR	TC	E	DP
Eddie Collins	CAG	1049	6.6	573	10	106
Cookie Rojas	NYG/MCG	928	7.1	477	5	71
Rogers Hornsby	KCM/POR	1156	4.8	624	10	92

Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#3B

It’s a bit of a toss up in a traditional defensive choice between the top 2: Philadelphia’s Scott Rolen covered more ground, but Ottawa’s Anthony Rendon made more plays. At the end of the day, it’s the plays that count.

Name	Tm	Inn	ZR	TC	E	DP
Anthony Rendon	OTT	1151	5.3	366	7	36
Scott Rolen	PHI	1116	8.0	329	10	32
Mike Schmidt	NYY	984	7.7	264	4	19

Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#SS

Detroit’s George Davis was absolutely dominant here, despite registering 13 errors. He got to more balls, turned more double plays, and was simply the best defensive SS in the league.

Name	Tm	Inn	ZR	TC	E	DP
George Davis	DET	1199	21.9	677	13	97
George Wright	LAA	1067	14.5	562	2	87
Ozzie Smith	KCM	1159	15.0	586	5	88

Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#LF

In LF, we have a victory for slow and steady: Brooklyn’s Roy White is far from flashy, and his arm is fair-to-middling at best. But he covers ground, and over nearly 300 chances and 1200 innings, made zero errors.

Name	Tm	Inn	ZR	K	E	DP
Roy White	BRK	1163	7.4	3	0	0
Jimmy Sheckard	NYG	1166	4.1	7	4	4
Rickey Henderson	SFS	946	3.4	9	4	1

Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / K = Kills (Assists) / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#CF

The choice between the New York Gothams’ Willie Mays and the Baltimore Black Sox’ Paul Blair is very, very rough. Their ZR’s are essentially identical, Mays has both 2 more kills and 2 more errors over about 200 more innings, as well as a slightly better range rating. Blair’s arm has actually been more effective overall. In the end, it’s Blair by a hair.

Name	Tm	Inn	ZR	K	E	DP
Paul Blair	BAL	1044	9.6	15	2	2
Willie Mays	NYG	1259	9.6	17	5	2
Curtis Granderson	BBB	982	7.9	14	3	3

Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / K = Kills (Assists) / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

Mention should be made of Ottawa’s Ken Griffey, Jr., who registered 16 kills in 649 innings, a pretty stunning rate of eliminating baserunners.

#RF

The New York Gothams’ Johnny Callison has, in slightly less than a full-time role, put up spectacular defensive numbers. Perhaps most impressive are the 4 double-plays. Here are the top three:

Name	Tm	Inn	ZR	K	E	DP
Johnny Callison	NYG	910	8.7	11	2	4
Roberto Clemente	HOM	1034	8.2	6	6	1
Larry Walker	OTT	641	3.5	11	3	1

Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / K = Kills (Assists) / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

Your Gold Glovers for year 2000 of the WBL:

P: Jack Taylor (HOD)
C: Louis Santop (CLE)
1B: Will Clark (MCG/NYG)
2B: Eddie Collins (CAG)
3B: Anthony Rendon (OTT)
SS: George Davis (DET)
LF: Roy White (BRK)
CF: Paul Blair (BAL)
RF: Johnny Callison (NYG)

Series XXXII Featured Matchup: Philadelphia Stars @ San Francisco Sea Lions

By mknn

On May 31, 2023

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game One: Pete Alexander @ Nick Altrock

Pete Alexander suffered from what seemed to be a ton of rust on his return from the DL, even have gone through a rehab assignment. Alexander gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks in under 3 innings before being lifted, with 2 scoring on a double from Jimmie Foxx.

Despite the early lead, the Sea Dogs got some bad news when Dick Lundy had to leave the game with an apparent shoulder injury.

Philadelphia’s first threat came in the top of the 3rd when base hits from Aaron Judge and Ted Kluszewski put runners at the corners with 2 outs. But Nick Altrock was able to get José Ramírez to line out to right field to end the inning.

Pedro Guerrero increased the Sea Lions’ lead to 4-0 with his 22nd homerun of the year in the bottom of the 5th and Bobby Bonds made it 5-0 with an RBI single in the 7th, extending his hitting streak to 17 games.

But the story was Altrock, who finished with a 7-hit shutout, improving his record to 2-1 and lowering his ERA to 2.45.

PHI 0 (Alexander 2-7) @ SFS 6 (Altrock 2-1)
HRs: PHI – none; SFS – Guerrero (22).
Box Score

#Game 2: Steve Carlton @ Lefty Grove

Each team trotted its ace out in the second game of the series, with both Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton and San Francisco’s Lefty Grove carrying ERAs under 4.00.

A Pedro Guerrero sacrifice fly gave the Sea Lions a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. (Bobby Bonds extended his hitting streak to 18 games earlier in the inning.) A homerun from Sal Bando doubled the lead in the next inning, and a Rickey Henderson triple scored Roy Hartzell, making it 3-0.

Grove had a shutout through 5, but got into a bases loaded jam in the 6th. He got one out, but José Ramírez singled in a run to make it 3-1 and chase Grove, who gave way to Diego Seguí. Seguí gave up a sacrifice fly to Roger Peckinpaugh, but escaped with the lead intact, 3-2.

Scott Rolen took Seguí deep in the 7th to tie the game. Meanwhile, Carlton was excellent, blanking the Sea Lions into the 7th, when a single from Henderson chased him. Minnie Rojas relieved Carlton and, after Henderson stole second, gave up a single to Bonds. Reggie Jackson walked, but Rojas gave up a fly ball to LF to score a run, giving the Sea Lions a 4-3 lead.

Ramírez tied it up in the 8th with a fly that just cleared the right field wall.

In the bottom of the 9th, after Henderson singled, Bonds tried to bunt him to second (bad choice, that), but popped the ball to Rolen at third who doubled up Henderson. That effectively sent us to extra innings.

In the top of the 11th, Ramírez did it again: another fly to right that just cleared the fence to put the stars ahead, 5-4. The Stars were helped by an error by Bando, eventually pushing the lead to 7-4.

Which is how it ended: Bob Howry was stretched out, but nicely effective, allowing only 1 run in 3 innings to earn the victory.

PHI 7 (Howry 3-5) @ SFS 4 (Robinson 5-4; Seguí 1 B Sv; Howell 3 B Sv) [11 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Rolen (17), Ramírez 2 (8); SFS – Bando (2).
Box Score

#Game 3: Hardie Henderson @ Tim Hudson

Sometimes a single big inning wins the game; sometimes it doesn’t.

The Sea Lions touched Hardie Henderson for 6 runs in the bottom of the 2nd: 2 on a double from Mickey Cochrane, 1 on a Roy Hartzell single, and the rest on a 3 run blast from Reggie Jackson. And, despite losing Tim Hudson to injury early in the game, it seemed like it would hold up.

But the Stars slowly closed the gap: 6-1, then 6-3, then 6-4. A wild pitch here, a sacrifice fly there, and an RBI double from Sherm Lollar over there. All of which set the stage for the 7th inning. San Francisco’s bullpen was a bit worn out, which left Dave LaRoche in the game despite clearly tiring. Still, he had gotten 2 outs on strikeouts. But Scott Rolen took him deep to right for a 3-run shot that put the Stars on top, 7-6.

And that’s how it ended. Ray Collins danced through the 8th despite 2 baserunners and Claude Jonnard pitched a perfect 9th for his first save of the season.

Aaron Judge added 3 hits for the Stars, while Rickey Henderson had 4 knocks for the Sea Lions, raising his average to .270.

PHI 7 (Henderson 1-0; Jonnard 1 Sv; Collins 1 H) @ SFS 6 (LaRoche 1-2, 2 B Sv)
HRs: PHI – Rolen (18); SFS – Jackson (26).
Box Score

It looks like Hudson will only be sidelined a few days and should be good for his next start. Still no clarity for the Sea Lions on the status of Dick Lundy.

#Game 4: Larry Jackson @ Diego Seguí

Diego Seguí gets the start for San Francisco, looking to even the series. The Sea Lions considered pro-actively placing Dick Lundy on the DL in exchange for a fully rested starting pitcher, but decided to hold out hop that their young SS’s injury is less serious than feared.

Seguí looked rough at first, giving up hits to Willie Davis and Roger Peckinpaugh to start the game and score a run. But Pedro Guerrero‘s 23rd homerun of the season reset the game in a 1-1 tie. In the bottom of the 3rd, Rickey Henderson was hit by a pitch, stole second (his 84th steal of the year), and scored on a double from Bobby Bonds, which extended Bonds’ hitting streak to 20 games.

The Stars’ Larry Jackson was struggling: a single from Guerrero scored Bonds, and a single from Jack Clark and a walk to Sal Bando loaded the bases. But Jackson got Phil Garner to lift a soft ball into foul territory, where Peckinpaugh grabbed it for the final out.

In the end, the Sea Lions made the same mistake they did in game 3: Seguí was left in one batter too long, surrendering a 2-run shot to Aaron Judge to tie the game in the top of the 6th.

Jackson–who had settled down–was finally chased in the top of the 7th by hits to Roy Hartzell and Henderson. His replacement, Don Carman, induced a double play from Bonds to end the inning. And so we sailed on into extra innings.

Bobby Abreu led off the 10th for Philadelphia with his 3rd hit of the game, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a pinch-hit double from Ted Kluszewski. Klu scored on a sac fly, given the Stars a 2 run edge, 5-3. Their closer, Bob Howry, came in, which is always interesting. Howry has 24 saves, but also sports an ERA over 5.00 … he was facing the top of the Sea Lions’ lineup, and Henderson and Bonds started it off for San Francisco with back to back singles. Howry balked them to 2nd and 3rd, then gave up a deep, deep fly to center from Jackson, scoring Henderson and moving Bonds to third. A double from Guerrero (who ended the day with 3 hits and 3 RBIs) tied the game, and after Howry got the 2nd out of the inning, a single from Bando won it for the Sea Lions.

PHI 5 (Howry 3-6, 6 B Sv) @ SFS 6 (Robinson 6-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Judge (2); SFS – Guerrero (23).
Box Score

TWIWBL 29.0 – Series XXII Notes

By mknn

On August 8, 2022

In TWIWBL

July 6th

Quick Glance at the Standings

Things are tightening up around the league, with the most shocking news being that the New York Black Yankees are now in 2nd place in the Effa Manley Division, 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Spiders.

The closest race is in the Bill James Division, where the New York Gothams, Detroit Wolverines, and Los Angeles Angels are separated by only 2 games. Over in the Cum Posey Division, the Chicago American Giants remain 3 games behind the Baltimore Black Sox.

The Marvin Miller Division has the closest thing in the WBL to a runaway leader, as the Portland Sea Dogs lead the Brooklyn Royal Giants by 5.5 games, with the Birmingham Black Barons–on a surprising 9-1 hot streak–a game further behind.

Oddball Stats

Thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the less important stats going on the WBL.

Sacrifice Hits are a big deal for some WBL teams, and 5 players are tied for the league lead with 12 each. They tend to make sense–players like Detroit’s George Davis or Baltimore’s Dan McGann. But then two names jump out: Chicago’s Duffy Lewis and the New York Black Yankees’ Lou Gehrig (Lewis has 12, Gehrig 10). What are those teams thinking? These are elite sluggers who are being told to “just move the runner over” far too often.

Wade Boggs of the Memphis Red Sox leads the WBL in GiDP, with 17, followed by Gil Hodges (Portland) and Ken Singleton (Baltimore) with 14. That all feels appropriate, although Willie Mays (New York Gothams) being next with 13 seems a little off.

Speaking of Mays, he leads all OFers with 14–FOURTEEN–OF assists. Ken Griffey, Jr–despite spending significant time in the minors for the Ottawa Mounties–is second with 12.

On the mound, let’s take a look at Meltdowns and Shutdowns, and specifically the mystery of the Kansas City Monarch‘s Trevor Rosenthal, who has 9 of the former and 10 of the latter. Roger Clemens, now of the Houston Colt 45’s, has allowed the most stolen bases in the league, as 30 players have successfully swiped bases against the Rocket.

Performance

Batters

Usual stuff: top 2 in various stats (plus all 1.000+ OPS), league leader in bold.

It’s still a widely diverse list, and it’s still dominated by Babe Ruth. The San Francisco Sea Lions‘ Reggie Jackson has fallen from leading the league in all 3 categories to “only” leading in OBP.

Dick Allen (CAG). 296/365/550. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 328/403/621.
Rico Carty (PHI). 295/364/481. 31 2B.
Eddie Collins (CAG). 307/408/530. 4.0 WAR.
Ty Cobb (DET). 341/385/532.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 337/443/523.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 245/400/391. 65 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 258/388/348. 63 BB, 61 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/376/599. 26 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 331/412/583. 68 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 338/448/618.
Stan Musial (KAN). 333/392/595. 111 H, 30 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 318/371/535. 85 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 300/378/457. 65 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 311/418/664. 29 HR, 87 RBI, 69 R, 4.9 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 316/351/470. 8 3B.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 328/433/575.
Mike Trout (LAA). 322/396/466. 108 H.

Starting Pitchers

Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-3, 3.66. 128 IP.
Ray Collins (PHI). 7-6, 3.96. 127.1 IP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 7-3, 2.82. 1.13 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-6, 3.96. 128 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.32. 127 K.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 8-5, 3.23.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.81. 3.4 WAR.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-3. 3.63.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.48. 1.14 WHIP, 3.4 WAR.

Relievers

25 IP for rate stats.

Tommy Hanson (BRK). 0-0, 3.16. 0.86 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.96. 22 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.23.
Chuck Porter (CLE). 4-3, 2.16. 0.84 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-2, 2.42. 15 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-1, 3.44. 11 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.37.

Streaks

Hank Aaron has an 18 game hitting streak, the only active streak that makes the league leaders. Aaron has hit homeruns in his last 3 games, as has Babe Ruth, but the leader in that category, surprisingly, is the Brooklyn Royal Giant‘s Beals Becker, who has gone deep in 5 consecutive games.

That gives Becker a stunning 1.300 SLG over those 5 games. Carlos Delgado, on fire since his trade to LA, is hitting .542 over his last 6 games.

Series Results

Series XXII Sweeps

Homestead Grays over Philadelphia Stars

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXII

Birmingham over Memphis
Houston over Portland
San Francisco over Ottawa

Series Splits

New York Gothams @ Baltimore
Brooklyn @ Cleveland
Chicago @ Miami Cuban Giants
Kansas City @ Detroit
Los Angeles @ Indianapolis ABC’s
New York Black Yankees @ Wandering House of David

TWIWBL 25.3: Series XIX Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On June 9, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

The Spiders’ two main acquisitions at the break should both see quite a bit of action, Ron Reed out of the bullpen and Lance Berkman at 1B, LF, and DH. Whether Berkman can shake the offensive slump that plagued him in Houston is another question altogether.

#Homestead Grays

Bill Mazeroski moves up to the WBL to provide depth at second base.

Four Grays–Roberto Clemente, Josh Gibson, Arky Vaughan, and Chief Wilson–drove in 3 runs each with Wilson and Andy Van Slyke rapping out 3 hits apiece in a 17-6 drubbing of Miami.

#New York Black Yankees

After refusing a demotion to AAA, SP Jack Chesbro was released. Newcomer Jamie Moyer moves into the starting rotation, and Gary Lavelle heads to the back of the bullpen with Dellin Betances heading to the minors. Sparky Lyle retains his closing role, but that may be in jeopardy rather quickly in the second half of the season.

With Tom Herr‘s arrival, Willie Randolph is the odd man out, heading back to AAA, and–somehow–preserving Craig Counsell‘s role on the team. Veteran OF Joe Harris comes up as a reserve OF.

#Philadelphia Stars

Claude Jonnard comes up to Philadelphia to replace Ron Reed‘s very large shoes, and Cecil Cooper is brought up to add another bat from the bench.

Willie Davis went 0-for-4, ending his 17-game hitting streak as the Stars lost their first game of the second half, 7-3 to Birmingham.

Ray Collins and Rheal Cormier combined on a 5-hit shutout of Birmingham. José Ramírez and Davis went deep in the 7-0 Stars’ victory.

Scott Rolen capped a come-from-behind victory with a 2-run walk-off homerun as the Stars took the third game of the series with Birmingham, 9-7. Rico Carty had 4 hits including 3 doubles, and Rolen drove in 3.

Looking to break out of a brutal slump, Chase Utley delivered a walk-off single to win the final game of the series with Birmingham. Buck Freeman and George Hendrick had 2 hits each, and perhaps more importantly, John Montgomery Ward threw a strong 7 innings, although he didn’t figure in the decision, with the win going to Bill Laskey.

TWIWBL 25.0: Series XIX Notes

By mknn

On June 6, 2022

In TWIWBL

June 22

Performance

Best Batters

Reggie Jackson of the San Francisco Sea Lions is oh-so-slowly being drawn back to the pack. He still leads the WBL in BA (by 11 points over Cleveland‘s Ron Blomberg) and in OBP (by 26 points over Homestead‘s Mike Epstein), but the New York Black Yankees‘ Babe Ruth has retaken the lead in SLG. Ruth has actually struggled recently, seeing his BA drop all the way down to .303, but over half his hits are for extra bases.

Looking at the leaderboards, a few things of note:

Ruth remains the only player in the top 2 in more than a few categories.
Ottawa‘s Tim Raines has taken over the SB lead, ahead of San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson.
The Chicago American Giants offense remains formidable, with four different players listed.

As usual, bold indicates a league leader, and the top 2 in most categories are included.

Dick Allen (CAG). 303/367/565. 8 3B.
Rico Carty (PHI). 296/362/487. 30 2B.
Eric Davis (NYY). 278/331/556. 24 HR, 59 R.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 335/440/527.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/381/398. 53 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 281/352/467. 25 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 263/39/369. 57 BB. 53 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 330/409/583. 59 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 353/466/634.
Willie Mays (NYG). 332/389/569. 98 H. 3.9 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 342/411/640.
Doug Rader (LAA). 317/371/537. 74 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 305/383/456. 58 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 303/410/643. 25 HR, 72 RBI, 61 R. 3.8 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 301/335/446. 8 3B.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 339/432/580. 96 H.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 321/420/461. 25 2B.

Best Starting Pitchers

It’s going to be interesting seeing how this develops. There is no real front-runner for the best pitcher in the league. Cleveland’s Cy Young shows up in the most categories, and when you consider how much of a workhorse he is, perhaps that puts him in front. But Los Angeles‘ Gerrit Cole is the only hurler in double-digits in wins, and Baltimore‘s Dennis Martínez is the only one with an ERA under 3.00.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 7-2, 1.12 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 11-3, 3.92.
Ray Collins (PHI). 7-5, 3.62. 112 IP.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 6-3, 3.11
Bob Feller (CLE). 7-4, 5.07. 11.0 K/9.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-4, 3.78. 10.1 K/9. 112 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-7, 4.20. 115 K.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.77. 2.8 WAR.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 9-4, 2.91.
Don Newcombe (CAG). 2-9, 6.15. 1.4 BB/9.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 9-2, 3.74.
Cy Young (CLE). 7-3, 1.12 WHIP. 1.6 BB/9. 114.2 IP. 3.1 WAR.

Best Relievers

Joseíto Muñoz has moved into Portland‘s rotation, but is a long way from having enough IP to be listed with the starters. A similar move may be looming for Indianapolis‘ Willie Mitchell. The best ERAs for pure relievers with over 20 IP belong to Ken Howell (San Francisco) and Aroldis Chapman (Miami Cuban Giants).

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-4, 4.24. 18 Sv.
Aroldis Chapman (MCG). 2-1. 1.42. 13 Sv.
Gene Conley (DET). 7-1, 3.96. 4 H.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.41. 3 Sv. 4 H. 0.94 WHIP.
Mark Melancon (HOU). 7-1, 3.12.
Willie Mitchell (IND). 3-2, 1.27. 1 Sv. 1 H.
Joseíto Muñoz (POR). 3-1, 1.17. 3 Sv. 2 H.
Ron Reed (CLE). 0-2, 2.72. 3 Sv. 12 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.57. 22 Sv. 1 H.
Brian Wilson (SFS). 1-0, 1.61. 12 Sv. 0.90 WHIP.

Streaks

Most notably, Thurman Munson‘s remarkable streak of reaching base in 43 consecutive games ended.

George Hendrick (Philadelphia) and Doug Rader (Los Angeles) each have extra-base hits in 6 consecutive games. Rader is slashing 448/448/966 over those six games, while Hendrick is at 560/593/1.120 over his last 27 plate appearances.

Mike Norris of the New York Gothams hasn’t allowed a run in his last 14 appearances.

Lance Berkman‘s change of scenery hasn’t seemed to help, as the new Cleveland Spider is mired in a slump where, over 13 games, he’s managed only a 109/180/109 slash line.

Series XIX Results

Series XIX Sweeps

Indianapolis over San Francisco

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XIX

Baltimore over Kansas City
Philadelphia over Birmingham
Brooklyn over Chicago
Homestead over Miami
Los Angeles over Memphis
Houston over Ottawa

Series Splits

Cleveland @ New York Black Yankees
Wandering House of David @ Detroit
New York Gothams @ Portland

Series XVIII Featured Matchup: Philadelphia Stars @ Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On January 21, 2022

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game One: Robin Roberts @ David Price

Philadelphia’s Robin Roberts is pitching for his roster spot, coming into the game at 4-5 (not bad) with a 6.69 ERA (very bad).

Indianapolis’ David Price‘s first pitch was sent into the seats by Willie Davis for his 12th homerun of the year and extending his hitting streak to 15 games. Despite loading the bases, Roberts escaped the bottom of the first, leaving the score 1-0 in favor of the Stars after 1 inning.

Sherry Magee launched a fastball from Price into the left field seats in the top of the 4th extending the lead to 3-0. Roberts allowed at least one base-runner in each inning, but had a 4-hit shutout through 5 innings.

Price was chased from the game when he gave up his third homerun of the day, another 2-run shot, this one by George Hendrick for a 5-0 lead for Philadelphia.

Roberts ran out of gas in the 6th, giving up a run on a double by Hal Morris, but got out of the inning without further damage. Larry Jackson replaced him in the bottom of the 7th, trying to preserve the 5-1 lead.

The ABC’s loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th, but Jackson closed it out, and you have to imagine this performance keeps Roberts around a little longer.

Stars 7 (Roberts 5-5; Jackson 1 Sv) @ ABC’s 1 (Price 3-5)
HRs: PHI – Davis (12), Magee (5), Hendrick (8).
Box Score

#Game Two: Steve Carlton @ Rube Foster

Steve Carlton makes his return from the DL for the Stars in this one. He looked incredibly sharp, fanning four in 2 innings, until in the bottom of the 3rd, Edd Roush tripled home Joe Morgan to put Indianapolis up, 1-0. That was all Carlton gave up in his 5 innings of work, but Rube Foster was even better, allowing only 1 hit over that span.

Willie Davis would extend his hitting streak with a bloop double in the top of the 6th, and Sherm Lollar would plate the tying run with a single, scoring Mickey Doolin.

It stayed 1-1 from then on. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Ernie Lombardi singled, putting the winning run on first. Barry Larkin ran for the Schnozz, and Dave Henderson pinch hit for Davey Concepcíon, trying to win it for the ABC’s. Henderson delivered, with a hit through the right side moving Larkin to 3rd, bringing up the struggling Ed Charles. Dennis Menke pinch hit for Charles, but whiffed on a nice curveball from Rheal Cormier, sending us to extra innings in the rain.

The 9th was hard on Indianapolis in terms of their defense: the elected to surrender the DH, allowing Larkin to take the field.

Scott Rolen led off the top of the 12th with a double against Rob Dibble, who then walked Ted Kluszewski. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice from Buck Freeman, but Hendrick plated both runners with a base hit. Kluszewski was hurt on the slide, so the Stars went to the bottom of the 12th with Rolen in right and J.M. Ward at the hot corner.

Bob Howry gave up a hit to Bob Bescher and then a double to Morgan, putting the tying run on second with one out. Don Carman came in for Howry, and promptly balked in a run. But Carman was able to retire Edd Roush and Johnny Bench, ending a good game in the Stars’ favor.

Stars 3 (Howry 2-3; Carman 1 Sv) @ ABC’s 2 (Dibble 2-3)
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Game Three: Ray Collins @ Doc White

Indianapolis will try to get their first win of the season behind one of the hottest pitchers in the leagues, lefty Doc White. The Stars will counter with probably their most dependable arm so far this season, the 6-4 Ray Collins.

Two groundouts led to a run for Philadelphia in the top of the 2nd, with Buck Freeman scoring Scott Rolen, who had singled to leadoff the inning, giving the Stars an early 1-0 lead.

The ABC’s took the lead in the bottom of the frame, on RBIs from Barry Larkin (a groundout) and Bob Bescher (a single), making it 2-1 in favor of Indianapolis. The bottom of the ABC’s lineup added to the lead the next inning, with a double from Ernie Lombardi, and singles from Larkin, Bescher, and Ed Charles make it 6-1.

A leadoff single from Johnny Bench and a walk to Oscar Charleston chased Collins from the game, with the Stars bringing in Don Carman in a game that was quickly getting out of reach.

Meanwhile, White continued to pitch brilliantly, giving up only the 2 hits and 1 run through 5 innings. Sherry Magee would lead off the 6th with a homerun, but any immediate hopes of a Stars’ comeback were put to rest with a 2 run shot from Lombardi in the bottom of the frame.

White would leave the game after walking in a run in the 7th, but Willie Mitchell got Rico Carty to fly out to end the inning, leaving the score at 8-3, Indianapolis, which is how the contest would end.

Lombardi had 3 hits, 3 RBIs, and scored 3 times for the ABC’s, as they closed within a win of a series split.

PHI 3 (Collins 6-5) @ IND 8 (White 3-1; Mitchell 1 Sv)
HRs: PHI – Magee (6); IND – Lombardi (6)
Box Score

Game #4: John Montgomery Ward @ Dolf Luque

The ABC’s will look to Dolf Luque to manage a series split, while the Stars will counter with J.M. Ward. Both hurlers have been throwing excellently of late, so the potential for a well thrown game is there.

Indianapolis would score first, with Johnny Bench driving in Bob Bescher with a double in the bottom of the first. Meanwhile, Luque didn’t allow his first hit until José Ramírez singled to lead off the top of the fourth. In the bottom of that inning, Hal Morris blasted a 3-run homerun to increase the lead to 4-0.

With two outs in the 5th, Luque walked Mike Scioscia and gave up a double to Chase Utley, but Mickey Doolin struck out to end the inning and preserve the shutout.

Ward would escape a bases-loaded jam in the 5th, surrendering only 1 run to make it 5-0.

Bill Laskey relieved Ward, and promptly let the game get further out of hand, giving up Morris’ second longball of the game, another flurry of hits, and a homerun to Bench, making it 11-0.

That left the only suspense as whether Luque could complete the shutout. He had a 4-hitter through 8, but had thrown 124 pitches when he took the mound for the 9th. Doubles by Buck Freeman and pinch-hitter George Hendrick would end the shutout and Luque’s day.

Morris, Bench, and Oscar Charleston each had 3 hits for Indianpolis, combining for 8 runs scored, 10 RBIs, and 3 homeruns.

PHI 1 (Ward 3-4) @ IND 16 (Luque 6-5)
HRs: IND – Morris 2 (9), Bench (15), Charles (3)
Box Score

Series Stats

The blowout at the end skews a lot of the offensive numbers for Indianapolis, who were led by Hal Morris, who went 7-for-16 and Bob Bescher’s 6 hits.

For Philadelphia, George Hendrick was 5-for-14 and Willie Davis 6-for-18 to lead the offense.

Series XVIII Preview: Philadelphia Stars @ Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On January 18, 2022

In Featured Series, Series Previews

We first met the Philadelphia Stars in Series VI and the Indianapolis ABC’s in Series X. Each team is struggling a bit, but each has the potential to make a move in the second half of the season.

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars are 2 games under .500, sitting at 34-36, 7 games behind the New York Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division.

They’ve actually played worse than that, and are outperforming their projections by four games–the most in the league. This is borne out in their stats: this is a below average team in everything except fielding and, perhaps, homerun power.

The real problem is that the Stars lack stars. To wit: no Star batter has an OPS over .900, but 6 of them are contributing solidly in the .800’s. This wasn’t always the case, but Rico Carty has hit a cold spot, with only 1 hit in his last 20 at-bats, dropping his slash line to 296/360/483. Not bad, but not where he was.

Still, the top four of the Stars’ lineup–Carty, Willie Davis, Gavvy Cravath, and Scott Rolen–are certainly good enough to play on a contender. Davis is tied with Ted Kluszewski for the team homerun lead with 11, Cravath leads the team in RBI with 38. The middle infield remains a bit of a mess for Philadelphia, with Mickey Doolin‘s sub .600 OPS causing him to lose playing time to José Ramírez at SS and 2B Chase Utley continuing to struggle after a hot start to the season.

The only regular member of the rotation with a winning record is Ray Collins, who has been pretty spectacular with a 3.44 ERA but only a 6-4 record. Jaret Wright has been surprisingly good (3-3, 3.83 ERA), and Larry Jackson (3-2, 4.06 ERA) has shown some promise. But Robin Roberts is on the verge of being sent to AAA, as is Don Carman, and Steve Carlton has just returned from injury. All that mediocrity is offset by the back end of the bullpen, which has been among the league’s best, with Ron Reed serving as a fantastic setup man for Bob Howry, who has 16 saves despite an ERA just over 5.00.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

The ABC’s are 1.5 games behind Philadelphia, but are roughly the same offensively, and a notch better on the mound … go figure.

C Johnny Bench is clearly their best player, slashing 289/399/569 while leading the team in homeruns (14) and RBIs (38). But CF Edd Roush–who moved into the starting lineup a few weeks ago–has an OPS pushing .900 and both IF Dennis Menke and young OF Oscar Charleston are solid contributors.

The challenge is at the other end. SS Davey Concepción has barely nudged his OPS over .600, 3B Ed Charles is on a cold streak that has seen his productivity plummet, and while Bob Bescher has stolen 23 bases, he offers little else.

Joe Morgan‘s return from injury offers some help, but it feels like the ABC’s really need to turn over more of their lineup to make a move.

The ABC’s’ pitching has been solid across the board, but one of the established starters (Johnny Cueto, Dolf Luque, and Rube Foster) really need to step up. Cueto is the only one of those three with a winning record at 6-4, but Luque and Foster have probably pitched better. If that happens–and if either Doc White (having just moved into the rotation with a 2.79 ERA) or Willie Mitchell (1.19 ERA in mostly relief work) can successfully step into the rotation–the ABC’s have a shot. The back end of the bullpen has been solid, with Rob Dibble leading the way with 12 saves.

#Series Matchups

Philadelphia starter listed first.

Robin Roberts (4-5, 6.69) @ David Price (3-4, 4.10)
Ray Collins (6-4, 3.44) @ Rube Foster (4-4, 4.11)
J.M. Ward (3-4, 5.02) @ Doc White (2-1, 2.79)
Jaret Wright (3-3, 3.83) @ Dolf Luque (5-5, 4.10)

#Series Prediction

Lessee … I think Roberts struggles again, earning a ticket to AAA, and the Stars win the other 3 games, taking the series, 3-1.

TWIWBL Special Edition: All Star Preview II – NL Starting Pitchers

By mknn

On September 26, 2021

In All Star Games

{ With under three weeks until the All Star Teams are announced, we’re looking at what’s changed since our original previews. }

Initial preview here, selecting Walter Johnson (Portland), Don Drysedale (Brooklyn), Camilo Pascual (Miami), Ron Guidry (New York Black Yankees), and Cy Young (Cleveland).

Johnson (6-1, 3.58 ERA), Drysedale (4-2, 2.71 ERA, which leads the league), and Guidry (5-4, 3.23 ERA) remain obvious choices, and while Young has fallen off a bit, Pascual, at 4-4 with a 3.19 ERA for a truly poor Miami team is likely still to make it.

That leaves one slot, with San Francisco’s Lefty Grove (5-2, 3.23 ERA) and Philadelphia’s Ray Collins (6-2, 3.20 ERA) as the likely candidates, although a case still could be made for Young (4-2, 3.82 ERA, 1.25 WHIP).

In addition to the 3 shoo-ins, the AI picks Collins, Grove, and Pascual along with Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss and San Francisco’s Diego Segui. Knauss has certainly pitched well, but he’s only made 6 starts, and while he’s gone 4-2 with a 2.76 ERA, it’s just not enough yet to merit consideration. Segui has seen even fewer innings and, again, while a 2.36 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP are impressive, you have to be putting up Hal Newhouser numbers to make the all star team as a starter with that few innings.

So we’ll go with Walter Johnson as the starter (although he needs to win another game someday: Johnson has 2 no-decisions and 1 loss in his last 3 starts), along with Drysedale, Guidry, Grove, and Collins.

TWIWBL 15.3: Series XII Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On August 25, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

Ron Blomberg had 3 hits and 4 RBIs, leading the Spiders to an opening game victory over the New York Gothams, 9-4. Cleveland OF Johnny Bates had an odd day: 3 walks and 2 sacrifice bunts, meaning he walked up to the plate 5 times without an official at-bat. The win went to Cy Young, now 3-2, and Doug Corbett pitched 2 scoreless innings to close it out for his first save.

Nap Lajoie and Evan Longoria were both sent to AAA to try to get their swings on track. IF Bobby Knoop and OF Kenny Lofton were recalled to Cleveland. The challenge for the Spiders remains juggling playing time at DH/C/1B, with Blomberg, Louis Santop, John Ellis, and Jake Stahl among their better contributors.

#Homestead Grays

Earl Hamilton moved into the starting rotation, but the fifth slot remains up in the air, with Carlos Zambrano recovering a bit from his early season struggles and John Candelaria not showing enough to stake a solid claim. Cliff Lee was sent to AAA. With a slash line of 162/311/216, Peaches Graham should be joining him, but there aren’t a lot of options in the minors, and Graham’s ability to get on base has some value, especially given how limited his role is as Josh Gibson‘s backup.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Lefty James will miss about 3 weeks with a sore elbow, which is a blow to the Indianapolis bullpen as the lefty was 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA. Octavio Dotel was promoted from AAA to take James’ place.

Clay Carroll has been struggling in his bullpen role, but not enough to warrant demotion, at least not until the ABC’s learn more about what they have in Dotel. 3B has been a problem spot for Indianapolis all season. Chase Headley‘s demotion to AAA hands the fulltime job to Ed Charles, but it’s not clear that’s a long-term solution. Barry Larkin was recalled to take Headley’s spot, but he’s more likely to pressure Davey Concepcion at SS than to challenge for the 3B job.

#New York Black Yankees

Jack Scott opened the series against Houston with a 6-hit shutout victory, 4-0. Mickey Mantle, Albert Belle, and Thurman Munson each had 2 hits, with Munson extending his hitting streak to 21 games.

In a game that saw Munson’s hitting streak end at 22 games, the Black Yankees clawed their way back to a walk-off win in 12 innings. Babe Ruth plated Derek Jeter with a hit through the drawn-in infield to give Goose Gossage his 3rd victory on the season. Gossage, Ralph Citarella, and Dellin Betances combined for 5 innings of 1-hit relief after a strong start from Waite Hoyt. Belle had 3 hits, Ruth and Jeter 2 each.

The recent dip in form by the Black Yankees has revived the question of what to do with Willie Randolph and Craig Counsell, neither of whom are hitting well enough to justify a big league roster spot. The challenge is that there really aren’t any options, especially with New York carrying 12 pitchers. Aaron Hill was promoted to AAA, and if he does well there, he may replace Counsell on the big league roster shortly.

#Philadelphia Stars

Led by Buck Freeman‘s 7th homerun of the year and Robin Roberts‘ best start, the Stars put together walk-off, 3-2 victory over Brooklyn. The win went to Bob McClure in relief of Roberts, and was sealed by an RBI single from Sherm Lollar, scoring Scott Rolen.

The top of Philadelphia’s lineup–Chase Utley and Gavvy Cravath–went 5-for-9 with 3 runs scored and 5 RBIs, leading the Stars over Brooklyn, 11-3. Utley, Sherry Magee, and Rico Carty all homered, and Ray Collins improved to 5-2 on the season with John Montgomery Ward throwing 3+ scoreless innings for his second save of the season.

Philadelphia is in a hard situation with Bill Dickey at C and Mickey Doolin at SS, both of whom are stretching credulity on how much defensive value a player can add. Both Dickey and Doolin carry OPS’ below .500, but for now both retain their jobs. The Stars would love recently recalled Jimmy Rollins to show more offensively to push Doolin, but so far, no luck.

TWIWBL 12.2: Series X Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On July 22, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Bryce Harper hit 2 homeruns, scoring 4 runs and driving in 5, and Frank Robinson had 4 hits (including a homerun) as did Bobby Wallace (Wallace also drove in 4 runs). That was enough to support a decent effort from Jim Palmer and defeat the Black Yankees, 12-2. Palmer improves to 4-3 on the year.

Despite 15 strikeouts–a record 5 by Wallace–the Black Sox beat the Black Yankees in game 2 as well, 8-3 behind homeruns from Curt Blefary, Harlond Clift, and Robinson. Johnny Sain improved to 5-2 on the year and Mark Baldwin, recently moved to the bullpen, earned his first save with 3 scoreless innings.

Ned Garvin‘s hitless streak ended at 9 innings when Don Mattingly doubled with one out in the top of the first. That didn’t stop Garvin from another fine outing, holding the Black Yankees to one run in 7.2 innings. Robinson had 3 hits as the Black Sox triumphed, 4-2, with Garvin improving to 3-1 and Don Bessent picking up his 6th save.

#Chicago American Giants

Dick Allen made 3 errors in the American Giants’ 8-1 loss to Los Angeles. They led to 2 unearned runs, so the loss can’t really be pinned on Allen’s poor glovework. Tricky Nichols gave up 6 runs in 5 innings to take his first loss of the year.

Despite setting a league record for strikeouts with 13, Ed Walsh took the loss, 2-1 against Los Angeles, evening his record at 3-3.

#Houston Colt 45’s

A 3-run homerun by Lance Berkman and a dominant start from Roy Oswalt led to a 4-2 victory for Houston over Philadelphia. Oswalt allowed only 4 hits in 7 innings, moving to 4-2 on the year and Brad Lidge picked up his 5th save in a game that dealt the Stars’ Ray Collins his first loss of the season.

Jimmy Wynn went 5-for-5 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs as Houston routed Philadelphia 15-6. Felipe Alou made his WBL debut, and went 3-for-5 with 5 RBIs and HR Johnson added 4 hits, with the win going to Toad Ramsey, who is now 4-3 on the season.

With Trevor Hoffman complaining of shoulder pain, the Colt 45’s recalled Mike Hartley from his rehab assignment while placing Hoffman on the 10 day DL.

#Ottawa Mounties

Old Hoss Radbourn was brilliant, allowing 1 run and 4 hits over 8 innings, and Tom Henke struck out the side for his 10th save. Radbourn evened his record at 3-3, helped by a first inning HR from Tim Raines, who had 3 hits on the day. Carlos Delgado and Phil Bradley added 2 hits and an RBI each.

A pinch-hit single in the bottom of the 9th by Delgado scored Alex Rodriguez–who had singled home Freddy Parent to tie the game–and gave the Mounties a 4-3, walk-off win in a game they trailed 3-0 in the bottom of the 7th. Gary Carter hit a two-run homerun then, setting the stage for Delgado’s heroics.

Monk Dubiel will miss two or three weeks, prompting Ottawa to recall Chris Leroux, who has been essentially unhittable at AAA.